Your guide to Florida's outdoors, by Sandra Friend, Florida's hiking expert, and her co-author John Keatley, covering the Florida Trail and other trails throughout Florida.

New Port Richey

New Port Richey is one of a string of cities – more deeply-rooted than its surroundings – along the Suncoast between Homosassa Springs and Tarpon Springs along US 19. This busy urban/suburban interface in Pasco County has a surprising number of natural lands tucked away in watershed areas.

Trails and Parks near New Port Richey

Anclote Key Preserve State Park-A place to play Robinson Crusoe for a day or overnight, Anclote Key Preserve State Park is an offshore gem in the Gulf of Mexico made up of four islands within sight of Tarpon Springs.

Caladesi Island State Park-A windswept sentinel off the coast of Dunedin at the edge of Clearwater Harbor, Caladesi Island enthralls visitors with its remoteness, its quiet beaches, its extensive forests and mangrove swamps.

Caladesi Island Trail-Protecting a windswept shoreline and a variety of habitats on a barrier island, Caladesi Island State Park is one of the gems of the Florida State Parks system

Crews Lake Wilderness Park-Crews Lake Wilderness Park in northern Pasco County offers a hiking loop with a nice immersion into the sandhills, where you’ll see lots of spring and fall wildflowers

Honeymoon Island State Park-An offshore getaway accessible by car, bike, or paddle, Honeymoon Island State Park offers white sand beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, which keeps it busy on weekends. The northern portion of the island, upland pine forests fringed with mangroves, hosts colonies of ospreys and pelicans nesting.

James E Grey Preserve-With a 1.3-mile loop through natural habitats along the Pithlachascotee River, James E. Grey Preserve is a hidden treasure on the outskirts of New Port Richey.

Osprey Trail-On this barrier island just north of Clearwater Beach, the Osprey Trail at Honeymoon Island State Park offers a close-up look at a rookery of “sea eagles,” the noble osprey

The Friends Trail-ooping through pine flatwoods in the middle of suburbia, the Friends Trail at Brooker Creek Preserve offers a quiet getaway at the end of a dead-end road

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park-Surrounding a sparkling first-magnitude spring, Weeki Wachee Springs State Park has been a draw for tourists since its mermaids first started wooing visitors in the 1940s.

Weekiwachee Preserve-Named for the river defining its northern boundary, the 11,000-acre Weekiwachee Preserve, along with adjoining public lands, forms the largest remaining Florida black bear habitat along the peninsular Gulf Coast.

Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park-Home to one of Florida's deepest springs, at 320 feet deep, Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park protects crucial coastal estuaries along a shoreline hemmed in by urban sprawl.